[ Aoko grabs the staff, but immediately slings her arm around Kaito's waist, her free hand jumping to the grappling gun she's been keeping at her belt. ]
[that seems to be a smart idea because more tentacles burst through the ground in quick succession. the floor is beginning to crumble away]
Going up. . .!
[he practically throws the gross puzzle piece into his inventory and grabs a hold of Aoko tightly with one arm. with the other, he snatches at his gun]
[ No time to hesitate! As soon as Kaito gives the okay, Aoko whips out the grappling gun and fires, aiming to secure the wire around the rafter directly above them. Seconds later—whup! Up they go, Aoko squeaking in fright and clinging to him the whole time. ]
You'll need to help me up!
[ SHE'S NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE, SHE IS NOT KAITOU KID. ]
[thank goodness he has done this before. once they're close enough, he slings his arm around the rafter and hoists himself on top of it. he perches on the beam like a cat with perfect balance and then spins around to help her up]
[just as a purple tentacle comes lashing at her, intent on knocking her out of the air]
OI--
[but thankfully, Kaito is on top of things. he swings his laser gun around and fires at the tentacle, which flashes bright red as the laser beam hits it. it jerks back, the HP bar above its head indicating that half of its health is remaining]
[there are now at least five other tentacles waving around the room now]
H-Hold them off! [ Her voice is a rapid, squeaky yell, full of nervous tension. Knowing that this is a harmless simulation doesn't change the fact that she is dangling by her fingertips a dozen feet above a bunch of vicious purple attack tentacles. ] While I climb up!
[ She doesn't have Kaito's flexibility, or his athleticism, but at least she'd been able to watch how he'd done it. S-SLOWLY STARTS MAKING AN ATTEMPT ]
[he extends one arm down to her as she attempts to climb up, but one arm is all he can give her right now. the tentacle from earlier is careening towards them again, and it order to avoid a collision he has to open fire on it once more]
[he's good at multi-tasking, though. he can totally hoist Aoko up while shooting at purple alien tentacles. TOTALLY]
[ She's not doing the best job of scrambling onto the rafter by herself. It's too high, she's too tense, and she does not want to lose the grappling gun. So, when Kaito offers his hand down to her, she immediately makes a grab for it, using his help to climb up the rest of the way. ]
T-Thanks! [ She gasps, when she's settled on her hands and knees on the beam. ] Now what do we do?
[he actually holds onto her arm well after he pulls her onto the rafter beam, if only because he's still focused on PURPLE TENTACLES and wants to reassure himself that she's safe and sound]
[as before, there are still five tentacles waving around the room, each one extending from underneath the floor below. well. . . the former floor, as the whole thing has now fallen away to reveal a pitch black pit. Kaito and Aoko cannot see any other portion of the alien monster other than the tentacles. the darkness of the pit makes it impossible]
[two of the tentacles have been brought down to about 2/3rds health. the other three have full HP bars. and on the other side of the room, the door that had been labeled COMBAT HALL is now wide open]
[Kaito assesses the scene quickly during their small moment of reprieve, making note of the (lack of a) floor and the open door]
I think we've got two options. [he says, never taking his eyes off of the alien monster]
We can defeat this guy and swing to the exit, or we can try'n make it there and hope we don't get knocked into the pit on our way down.
[ He can hold on for as long as he likes; Aoko sure isn't going to protest. His grip on her is grounding, helping her to stay steady ... which is great, because the moment she looks down and sees the gaping chasm where the floor used to be, she wobbles alarmingly. Ohhhh god. ]
I-If ... [ Clears her throat, tries again. ] If we swing for it, you'd need to be the one with the grappling gun. [ He's the one that really knows how to use it. There's no way she could -- ] But then you wouldn't have your hands free for your gun. L-Let me see ...
[ Tears her gaze away from the pit, casting around instead for ... something. Anything that she could use to help them both out. ]
[sadly, there doesn't seem to be anything in the rafters or on the ceiling above them that looks helpful :(]
[Kaito nods and finally lets go of Aoko's arm, though not without glancing sideways at her first]
Tch. . .!
[he musters up a confident smile]
Then let's take this thing head on! After our last alien encounters, I think we're tough enough for it.
[-- he'd continue, but that is the sound of yet another tentacle whooshing through the air towards them. brb while he whips around to shoot at it AGAIN and divert its course faaaaar away from their cozy rafter]
[ It’s a good thing that Kaito’s so calm, because Aoko sure as sugar isn’t. When he lets go she has to fight not to grab for him again, instead distracting herself by rummaging through her inventory. There’s nothing in the room that could help them, and as confident as she is that Kaito could take out all of the tentacles by himself … she’s got to do something. ]
Kaito, do you think you can pinpoint where its body is? [ She asks, quickly, as she pulls out a few of the blue vials she’d gathered from the other room. ] I—I don’t know if these will work, but it’s worth trying!
[Kaito's response isn't immediate as he fires off the final shot left in his laser gun. the shot strikes one of the tentacles and depletes all of its HP, causing it to glitch out and disappear as the other alien monsters had earlier. four more tentacles to go!1 and "One hundred points to player one" as well]
[squeezing the trigger again only produces a faint click, which signifies that the ammunition is gone. with a curse, he ducks his head and stuffs his hand into his inventory to reload his weapon]
Not yet, but I have an idea. . .!
[the "bullets" of his weapon emit a soft glow of light each time fires off a shot. maybe he could use that to shed a little bit of illumination onto their situation]
[ The click of the gun running empty almost makes her panic, before she remembers—no, it’s fine, he brought extra ammo with him. Breathe, Aoko. It’s just a game, they can do this; even if they can’t find the main body, there’s only four tentacles left. Nothing can go wrong. ]
[ She shifts into a slightly steadier stance, uncapping a couple of the vials. Breathes, carefully, in and out. And then … she forces herself to look down. It’s not that she’s afraid of heights in particular, but between the gaping pit of darkness and the giant angry alien dwelling within it, it’s … o-oh god, no, focus. ]
[ Keeps her eyes down, watching like a hawk. It hadn’t been obvious in the earlier, better lit rooms, but here? The light from the laser ‘bullets’ stood out, if only a little. ]
[ And the moment Kaito manages to illuminate any faint sign of their target, Aoko wastes no time in throwing both vials straight at it! ]
[Kaito reloads his weapon quickly, snapping the ammunition chamber shut-- and just in time, too. another tentacle comes whirling at them, and a red laser beam from his weapon zips through the air mere inches from Aoko's face to strike it and divert it away. she might even feel the heat from that shot]
[. . . he'll have to apologize later]
Ready!
[and without waiting for her to respond (because she is in sync with him, she has to be, and he has to trust her to be), he swings his firearm around and shoots at the pit below]
[. . .]
[the light from the red laser reveals this. a wide, gaping maw with serrated teeth circling the opening. terrifying]
[luckily, the creature gobbles up the blue vials without hesitation. there's a low rumbling noise. . .]
[a low rumbling noise quickly followed by a high-pitched, shrill shriek as the kraken (kraken????) suddenly bursts into flame. it begins with a few small explosions below, in the pit, but the fire quickly zooms up the creatures tentacles. the appendages shrivel and burn as the flames lick at the creature's skin, and due to the fact that they are not flailing about, a few tongues of fire might be flying in the direction of our brave protagonists]
[. . .]
[the kraken is reduced to ash within seconds. ash that, as before, glitches out and completely disappears]
[ Almost being shot in the face (it wouldn't hit, she knows he'd have never let it hit; his aim was too good for that) startles her so badly that she almost messes up. Almost. Can't afford to mess up, not now, she'll just have to kill him for it later. Now she has to move in sync with him; react and act in perfect alignment. ]
[ The monster below is like something from one of her worst nightmares. Good thing, then, that it doesn't last very long—within seconds the thing is a writhing, shrieking mass of fire, and Aoko can do nothing but gawk, stunned into silence. ]
[ … a silence that Kaito eventually breaks. ]
[ Opens her mouth. ]
[ Closes it again. ]
[ … and since she's still crouching next to him, she leans against his legs, gently (please ignore the faint, adrenaline-fueled tremor that seems to have overtaken her), and looks up at him with a shit eatingly innocent grin. ]
It's not my fault I'm the only one who knows how to get anything done around here~ ♥
[she leans against him, and he crouches, placing his hand on her shoulder as he does so. he can feel the slight shiver that has taken over her body, but he in turn is perfectly still]
Don't sound so pleased with yourself! We're not done yet.
[his words are grumpy but let's be real here, if he were in Aoko's position he'd be bragging too]
[ It's comforting to have him right there, a warm, solid and steady presence that she can rely on. As long as he's with her … everything will work out just fine. She can count on him. ]
If you were me, you'd be crowing non-stop! [ Rolls her eyes at him, even as she leans against him slightly. ] But … speaking of not being done, here. [ She offers him the grappling gun. ] I, uhm, I don't think I'll be steady enough to get us down.
[she sure can. he gives her shoulder a squeeze as he holsters his laser gun. he lowers his voice slightly, teasing and light and perhaps a bit Kid-like]
Why, Nakamori-san, swinging from grappling hooks happens to be one of my specialties. ♥
[he shoots her a playful wink as he takes the grappling gun from her]
[the way he says that is a little dorky, but he gives her no time to respond before he levels the grappling hook at a rafter hanging above the open door. with a loud bang, he fires, and the hook and attached rope zip through the air and attach to said rafter. Kaito yanks on their anchor to ensure that it's steady, before he pinches Aoko's waist gently in warning]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[ Aoko grabs the staff, but immediately slings her arm around Kaito's waist, her free hand jumping to the grappling gun she's been keeping at her belt. ]
Going up?!
[ YES, NO, MAYBE?! ]
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Going up. . .!
[he practically throws the gross puzzle piece into his inventory and grabs a hold of Aoko tightly with one arm. with the other, he snatches at his gun]
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You'll need to help me up!
[ SHE'S NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE, SHE IS NOT KAITOU KID. ]
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[thank goodness he has done this before. once they're close enough, he slings his arm around the rafter and hoists himself on top of it. he perches on the beam like a cat with perfect balance and then spins around to help her up]
[just as a purple tentacle comes lashing at her, intent on knocking her out of the air]
OI--
[but thankfully, Kaito is on top of things. he swings his laser gun around and fires at the tentacle, which flashes bright red as the laser beam hits it. it jerks back, the HP bar above its head indicating that half of its health is remaining]
[there are now at least five other tentacles waving around the room now]
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H-Hold them off! [ Her voice is a rapid, squeaky yell, full of nervous tension. Knowing that this is a harmless simulation doesn't change the fact that she is dangling by her fingertips a dozen feet above a bunch of vicious purple attack tentacles. ] While I climb up!
[ She doesn't have Kaito's flexibility, or his athleticism, but at least she'd been able to watch how he'd done it. S-SLOWLY STARTS MAKING AN ATTEMPT ]
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[he extends one arm down to her as she attempts to climb up, but one arm is all he can give her right now. the tentacle from earlier is careening towards them again, and it order to avoid a collision he has to open fire on it once more]
[he's good at multi-tasking, though. he can totally hoist Aoko up while shooting at purple alien tentacles. TOTALLY]
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[ She's not doing the best job of scrambling onto the rafter by herself. It's too high, she's too tense, and she does not want to lose the grappling gun. So, when Kaito offers his hand down to her, she immediately makes a grab for it, using his help to climb up the rest of the way. ]
T-Thanks! [ She gasps, when she's settled on her hands and knees on the beam. ] Now what do we do?
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[he actually holds onto her arm well after he pulls her onto the rafter beam, if only because he's still focused on PURPLE TENTACLES and wants to reassure himself that she's safe and sound]
[as before, there are still five tentacles waving around the room, each one extending from underneath the floor below. well. . . the former floor, as the whole thing has now fallen away to reveal a pitch black pit. Kaito and Aoko cannot see any other portion of the alien monster other than the tentacles. the darkness of the pit makes it impossible]
[two of the tentacles have been brought down to about 2/3rds health. the other three have full HP bars. and on the other side of the room, the door that had been labeled COMBAT HALL is now wide open]
[Kaito assesses the scene quickly during their small moment of reprieve, making note of the (lack of a) floor and the open door]
I think we've got two options. [he says, never taking his eyes off of the alien monster]
We can defeat this guy and swing to the exit, or we can try'n make it there and hope we don't get knocked into the pit on our way down.
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I-If ... [ Clears her throat, tries again. ] If we swing for it, you'd need to be the one with the grappling gun. [ He's the one that really knows how to use it. There's no way she could -- ] But then you wouldn't have your hands free for your gun. L-Let me see ...
[ Tears her gaze away from the pit, casting around instead for ... something. Anything that she could use to help them both out. ]
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[Kaito nods and finally lets go of Aoko's arm, though not without glancing sideways at her first]
Tch. . .!
[he musters up a confident smile]
Then let's take this thing head on! After our last alien encounters, I think we're tough enough for it.
[-- he'd continue, but that is the sound of yet another tentacle whooshing through the air towards them. brb while he whips around to shoot at it AGAIN and divert its course faaaaar away from their cozy rafter]
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Kaito, do you think you can pinpoint where its body is? [ She asks, quickly, as she pulls out a few of the blue vials she’d gathered from the other room. ] I—I don’t know if these will work, but it’s worth trying!
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[Kaito's response isn't immediate as he fires off the final shot left in his laser gun. the shot strikes one of the tentacles and depletes all of its HP, causing it to glitch out and disappear as the other alien monsters had earlier. four more tentacles to go!1 and "One hundred points to player one" as well]
[squeezing the trigger again only produces a faint click, which signifies that the ammunition is gone. with a curse, he ducks his head and stuffs his hand into his inventory to reload his weapon]
Not yet, but I have an idea. . .!
[the "bullets" of his weapon emit a soft glow of light each time fires off a shot. maybe he could use that to shed a little bit of illumination onto their situation]
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[ She shifts into a slightly steadier stance, uncapping a couple of the vials. Breathes, carefully, in and out. And then … she forces herself to look down. It’s not that she’s afraid of heights in particular, but between the gaping pit of darkness and the giant angry alien dwelling within it, it’s … o-oh god, no, focus. ]
[ Keeps her eyes down, watching like a hawk. It hadn’t been obvious in the earlier, better lit rooms, but here? The light from the laser ‘bullets’ stood out, if only a little. ]
[ And the moment Kaito manages to illuminate any faint sign of their target, Aoko wastes no time in throwing both vials straight at it! ]
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[. . . he'll have to apologize later]
Ready!
[and without waiting for her to respond (because she is in sync with him, she has to be, and he has to trust her to be), he swings his firearm around and shoots at the pit below]
[. . .]
[the light from the red laser reveals this. a wide, gaping maw with serrated teeth circling the opening. terrifying]
[luckily, the creature gobbles up the blue vials without hesitation. there's a low rumbling noise. . .]
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[. . .]
[the kraken is reduced to ash within seconds. ash that, as before, glitches out and completely disappears]
Five hundred points to player two.
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[silence]
[. . .]
This is getting kinda unfair.
[REFERRING TO HER KILL SNIPING ONE OF HIS TARGETS. AGAIN]
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[ The monster below is like something from one of her worst nightmares. Good thing, then, that it doesn't last very long—within seconds the thing is a writhing, shrieking mass of fire, and Aoko can do nothing but gawk, stunned into silence. ]
[ … a silence that Kaito eventually breaks. ]
[ Opens her mouth. ]
[ Closes it again. ]
[ … and since she's still crouching next to him, she leans against his legs, gently (please ignore the faint, adrenaline-fueled tremor that seems to have overtaken her), and looks up at him with a shit eatingly innocent grin. ]
It's not my fault I'm the only one who knows how to get anything done around here~ ♥
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Don't sound so pleased with yourself! We're not done yet.
[his words are grumpy but let's be real here, if he were in Aoko's position he'd be bragging too]
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If you were me, you'd be crowing non-stop! [ Rolls her eyes at him, even as she leans against him slightly. ] But … speaking of not being done, here. [ She offers him the grappling gun. ] I, uhm, I don't think I'll be steady enough to get us down.
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Why, Nakamori-san, swinging from grappling hooks happens to be one of my specialties. ♥
[he shoots her a playful wink as he takes the grappling gun from her]
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[ Apparently, he is. He is really going to go there. ]
If there wasn't a giant gaping pit of darkness where the floor used to be, I'd shove you off this rafter right here and now.
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[he snaps back into Kaito pretty quickly and snickers]
C'mere, you dork.
[slides one arm around her waist and grabs a hold of her tightly]
Hold on tightly, okay? I don't want you to slip and fall.
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I won't fall!
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I've got you.
[the way he says that is a little dorky, but he gives her no time to respond before he levels the grappling hook at a rafter hanging above the open door. with a loud bang, he fires, and the hook and attached rope zip through the air and attach to said rafter. Kaito yanks on their anchor to ensure that it's steady, before he pinches Aoko's waist gently in warning]
Going down!
[AND THEN HE JUMPS]
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[ … it is a very muffled scree, mostly because her face is buried against his shoulder, but it sure is an unmistakable scree all the same. ]
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